The Pacific Northwest Book Award Committee recognized late author Brian Doyle with an Indie Spirit Honor for his body of work and vigorous support of independent booksellers in the Northwest and beyond. Doyle passed away in May 2017. We republish this essay that he wrote upon winning a 2016 PNBA Award in memory of his …
“Undermajordomo Minor has adventure, romance, bottomless pits, thieves, adventure– great summer stuff for everyone who loves stories.” —Posman Books staff pick, Chelsea Market, NY, NY I found this PNW local award winner in the staff picks section spotlight in New York City, and it felt like running into an old friend in the Big Apple. I thought …
Tonight’s the night! Griffin Bay Bookstore in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island is throwing a party to present Thor Hanson with his second Pacific Northwest Book Award plaque, this time for his nonfiction book, The Triumph of Seeds. They are also celebrating the release of Thor’s first children’s picture book, Bartholomew Quill: A Crow’s …
It was five or so years ago when I met my French translator, Philippe. We’d been corresponding by email for some time, our discussions initially consisting of questions relating to the translation of my first novel. But once the work was completed we continued the back and forth, establishing a friendship beyond professional matters. …
As a reader, I find recommendations difficult to ignore. Even when the pile beside my evening chair is in danger of toppling, something new, received at the insistence of a friend, simply must be cracked open. The same goes for gifts. While I have no trouble composting an unwanted fruitcake, or exchanging a shirt with …
Sometimes a unicorn shows up in your life and makes everything better. I wasn’t really expecting one. A few years ago, I had nearly realized an ambition I’ve had since age 12: I had scored a contract to develop a comic strip for newspaper syndication. I won that contract, in the Comic Strip Superstar contest, …
What did I think of when I learned that my peculiar collection of essays had won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award? Weirdly, not the barrels of cash and fine wines and excellent cheeses that would surely come my way, or the hordes of somber graduate students that would soon be studying my semicolons, or the …
I left my hometown in Washington at seventeen, riding the Amtrak Cascades line south to Seattle and then the Empire Builder east. My father hugged me goodbye on the gray platform. It was, as always, raining. You know what they say, Meg, he said. You can never come home again. Those words confirmed the worst …
“Where do you get your ideas?” This is probably the single most common question authors are asked. I think part of the reason is a notion—or maybe a hope—that all you need to write a book is a good idea. Alas, it’s rarely that straightforward. Almost no one has an idea for a book and sits down to …
The 2016 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Winners have been announced! A panel of nine booksellers from the region chose the winners from nearly 300 nominations of books written by authors from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, or British Columbia. Here are the winners, with brief descriptions by the Award Committee: Call Me Home by Megan Kruse (Seattle, WA) …
